This Time Around
by The Great Apester
Summary: Eight years later, Haley returns to Tree Hill to sell her childhood home hoping to put behind her memories she can't seem to let go of. Memories of a childhood friendship and the chance for love they were never given.
1. Default Chapter

This Time Around  
  
***She walked up the back steps of the café, nervous and anxious. It wasn't everyday that you said goodbye to your best friend. Lucas. What would she do without Lucas in her life day to day? Tomorrow morning she would be leaving for college in another state far away from him. Taking a deep breath she reached for the door.  
  
"Hales." Lucas stood in the doorway. "I was just coming to your house."  
  
"Well I beat you to it. I figured this was better than some long drawn out sappy goodbye." Her lips formed the crooked half smile he had grown to love as she punched him in the arm. "So, goodbye."  
  
"What? That's it? All these years and that is all I get? God Haley, a little more emotion maybe." He laughed and tucked his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. "I was thinking a 'wow Lucas I'm going to miss you so much, how am I supposed to live without you' kind of speech or something."  
  
"Like I said, didn't want to do the drawn out sappy thing." Running her hand through her long hair, she looked out at the setting sun in his backyard and chuckled. "Can you believe we have lived through eighteen years together? There are so many memories here, with you and your mom." She paused realizing the void she was going to have without him.  
  
"Hales." His hand touched her shoulder and she turned around. "We'll always have Paris."  
  
"Oh shut up you freak." Pushing him back she shook her head. "Now hug me so I can get out of here."  
  
His arms reached for her cradling her against his chest as he took a deep breath of her sweet scent. "God I'm going to miss you." Closing his eyes, he kissed the top of her head and smiled as he remembered all the good and bad moments in his life with Haley James.  
  
"You are thinking too much. I can always tell when your brain is working too hard. It starts ticking and..." She looked up and met his eyes. "and steam starts shooting out from..." She lost her train of thought and forgot to breathe. His steamy blue eyes looked down at her and for a brief moment she wondered what if. "Goodbye Lucas."  
  
"Goodbye Hales." He cupped her face in his hands and placed a soft kiss on her cheek and let his lips linger against her skin. Closing his eyes as a wave of desire blurred his senses, he let his fingers run through her thick hair and traced his lips along her cheek till he met her lips.  
  
Her body had never reacted to the touch of a man like this before. It was like she was warped into another world, where she only felt and didn't think. If she started to think, she would remember that this was Lucas, her best friend. Lucas was the man who in one touch brought something dormant alive. When his lips touched hers, she responded with a voracity she hadn't known she was capable of.  
  
"Haley." Her name escaped his lips as he devoured her eager mouth. The sound of it echoed through his mind and he realized it was always meant to be said with craving and desire.  
  
She pulled away, searching in his eyes for something as he did hers. Holding each other they panted for air, spent from the new found passion. Her eyes fluttered closed as his lips touched her forehead and he whispered, "Follow me."  
  
Leading her, hand in hand, she followed. Realizing she would follow him to the end of the world or his bedroom. He stopped in the doorway to his room and turned her to him. "You are so beautiful Haley. I have always wanted to kiss you right here, where you smirk at me and there is this small dimple. It has just waited for my lips to touch it."  
  
"Lucas." She moaned his name as his lips, then tongue traced her mouth. "What are we doing?"  
  
"I don't know." Fervently, their hands explored the unknown. They devoured each other's bodies, clothes thrown and skin damp.  
  
Haley fell to the bed as Lucas's strong body lay above her. She pulled his head to her and nibbled his ear, laughing as his hands tickled beneath her breasts. "Lucas, I have never..."  
  
He stopped and met her eyes. "I just assumed you and.."  
  
"No. It was always meant to be you." Her smile was matched with his and in Lucas's bedroom basked with the setting sun, Haley gave away her innocence...and her heart.***  
  
It had been a long time since she stepped foot in Tree Hill, eight years to be exact. Sitting in the back of the cab, Haley James leaned her head against the glass and watched the storefronts of main street pass by. Her heart tightened when she passed the familiar sign of Karen's Café.  
  
So many years have past and so many things had gone unspoken. Taking a deep breath she saw the house she had grown up in and tapped the cab driver on the shoulder. "Right here."  
  
The cab came to a slow stop in front of a worn down house with a for sale sign in the yard. Opening the cab door and grabbing her luggage she walked to the front door and pulled out her key. It had been eight years since she last stood on these steps. When she left Tree Hill, she ran as fast as she could from feelings she was afraid to come to terms with.  
  
Using her key, she opened the door and walked into the familiar house. Not much was left since her mother and father packed up and moved to Florida with her sister. Walking further into the dusty room, she felt a serene sense of peace. This had been her home, a place of fond memories that she had held close to her heart and now she would have to sell it.  
  
When her mom initially asked for the favor, she declined, but after much thought she decided it could give her the closure she needed. An easy three of four weeks in Tree Hill, finish packing up what was left, clean and handle the real estate issues left pending.  
  
Setting her keys on the kitchen counter, she smiled. "I'm home."  
  
Her cell phone rang and she sighed when she saw the number. Letting it ring into her voice mail, she set the phone down next to her keys. She just needed some time to think.  
  
She walked up the steps and stood before the wooden door to her bedroom. Turning the knob it creaked open and she gasped in shock. "Oh my God."  
  
Nothing changed, everything was the same as she left it eight years ago. Her mom told her that some of her belongings remained, but she wasn't expecting everything. Her dresser was still topped with jewelry boxes, her bed was still covered with the same bedspread and on her mirror hung the photos she refused to take with her.  
  
She stood before the mirror and reached for the one photo that affected her the most. Looking back at her was Lucas Scott with his arm around a young naïve girl with so much to live for.  
  
"Lord it seems like a lifetime ago." Putting the picture down, she stared at her own reflection in the mirror. She wasn't that young girl anymore. Her eyes were worn from tiredness and her body no longer held the fresh presence of youth. Flipping the ends of her shorter hair, she wished back the days of insatiable freedom.  
  
She fell back on her bed and coughed as the dust flew in the air. She had a lot of work to do in the short time she was here and packing away her past would be the first thing on her list.  
  
This time when she heard a phone ring, it wasn't her cell. The natural sound echoed through the house as she heard the answering machine pick up and her mother's sharp voice ordering the caller to leave a message. "Nothing changes."  
  
"Haley! Haley are you there? Listen honey, Devon called here and said you weren't answering your cell and wanted me to call you. He said that he needs your decision about the position and your answer to his proposal. What kind of proposal are we talking about here Haley? Hello! Honey if you are there, please pick up."  
  
There was a pause and Haley hoped she had hung up. "Fine, you can act like an obstinate child all you want. By the way, I left the house papers with Keith and Karen Scott. Call me back Haley and call Devon too, he sounded...desperate."  
  
She threw her hand over her face and groaned. She just wanted a break, a break from her job and her life. Sitting up, she panicked when she remembered her mother saying that Keith and Karen had the house papers. "Great." It wasn't that she didn't want to see them, because she did, more than anything. She just wasn't ready to face the memory of Lucas, and Karen's Café held more memories than she could endure right now.  
  
It wasn't like he was here, she had made sure of that. From what her mother had told her, he was off in Europe studying something or another. She didn't care to ask, only that he wasn't here. Too much time had passed and to see him now would just be pointless.  
  
Kicking off her shoes, she fell back down on her bed and closed her eyes, praying for a little tranquility that her restless life never permitted. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
She was putting off the inevitable by hiding away in the dusty house. She had cleaned most of the bottom floor rooms in two days. Scrubbing, dusting and packing kept her mind off of what the present Tree Hill had to hold.  
  
Tucking her hair behind her ears, she sighed. "Today's the day. Off to Karen's Café, get the papers and get this over with." She knew she was being ridiculous. It had been eight years, she was a different person. As everyone else would be, people grow up and move on. It wasn't like she was a loser with nothing to show over the years. A Masters degree in Business hung on her apartment wall in Seattle, along with a reputable reward from Forbes. She had done what she wanted to do, all on her own without the help of anyone.  
  
Yes, she had done well. "So then why am I so damn lost?" Grabbing her keys, she opened the door the unknown. The warm late spring hair hit her face immediately and a brief moment of contentment filled her. She would ask the why later.  
  
It was a short walk and it was just what she needed after all the cleaning. The streets were empty for a weekend morning, but when she turned the corner, people were filing in to the few restaurants the town had to offer. One of them being Karen's Café.  
  
She opened the door and was happy to see that at least this place remained the same. The same wooden counters and table, the same mugs and plates and the same smiling face greeting you.  
  
"Well look who just walked in the door."  
  
Haley laughed as Keith Scott jumped over the counter and picked her up, spinning in circles of merriment. "Well you don't seem any heavier."  
  
She smacked his arm as he put her down and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Don't make me get angry. You know I lose all sense of wittiness when I'm dealing with anger."  
  
"Don't I know it." He turned towards the shiny counter and yelled. "Karen! Karen get out here!"  
  
"What?" Karen Scott came around the counter with a rag over her shoulder. "Will you quit yelling, our customers are going to think..." She stood still, grinning in disbelief. "I didn't believe your mother. I just shook it off as another one of her stories. But dear god here you are. Now get over here and hug me."  
  
Haley's arms surrounded the ageless woman she loved as a mother. "I have missed you so much." Closing her eyes, she held tighter for one quick second memorizing everything about the moment. "I've even missed this place!"  
  
Karen laughed and eyed Keith. "Well your welcome to come back to work while you're here, it seems my partner has been slacking." Pointing towards the stool, she ushered Haley to a seat. "So I suppose you want these." Pulling out a thick envelope she placed it on the counter. "I still can't believe your parents are not in Tree Hill anymore. So much has changed."  
  
"Not so much." Keith came from behind and patted Haley on the head. "So miss big executive. How are you getting time off from your job for this?"  
  
"I requested it. More like needed it. Seattle is so..so..gloomy. The sun of Tree Hill was a welcome from the constant rain." Holding the envelope in her hand, she bit her lip. So much of her life was in that house, so much of who she was. How could her parents just leave like this?  
  
Keith wrapped his arm around her and smashed his mouth to her cheek. "Well whatever the reason, it is good to see your face and know you're alright." Looking back at Karen's glaring eyes he tried to hold his tongue, but couldn't. "So, it just so happens that Whitey is retiring in two weeks and there is this big party for him and..."  
  
"And I'm sure the last thing Haley wants to do is go to a party for Whitey." What seemed like her sweet smile to some was her warning grin to her husband.  
  
"Whitey is retiring huh? Wow, I figured that man would have died coaching." Taping her nails on the counter, she wondered for a brief second what it would be like to see some of the old gang. She wasn't even sure what most of them were up to, her constant letters with Karen didn't fill her in on everything. "So Karen, would you mind maybe stopping by the house sometime this week? I have some stuff I was hoping you could go through with me."  
  
"Stuff?" Karen made sure that Keith was out of earshot. "What kind of stuff are we talking about here?"  
  
Reaching for the cup of coffee Karen poured for her, Haley brought it to her lips and grinned. "You know, papers, pictures, memories..blah blah blah."  
  
"Ahhh, memories." She turned her back to Haley, bagging a take out order. "Funny thing about memories, they tend to stick with you no matter what you do." For so many years Karen received Haley's letters, always about her life and what she was up to. But not once had she ever brought up Lucas' name. She had given up trying to find out what happened from Lucas. Every time she brought up Haley's name, he would warp into another world and irritably respond with a 'I don't want to talk about it'.  
  
It had been eight years and they have both grown into different people with different lives. Eight years is a long time to hold whatever grudge they had towards each other.  
  
"Yeah, especially when you don't want them to." Downing the rest of her coffee, Haley jumped off the stool. "Well I'm outta here you two." She turned and stopped when she was almost run over by a smiling little girl in pigtails.  
  
"Auntie Karen! Auntie Karen!"  
  
Haley looked up at Karen curiously, silently questioning who the little girl belonged to.  
  
"Ali! Get over here young lady!" The strong male voice called out after the girl, stopping abruptly when he saw Haley. "Haley?"  
  
She should have seen it the minute the girl looked up at her, she was a spitting image of Nathan Scott. "Nathan." She tensed as his arms came around her and hugged her. Though she let go of the anger a long time ago, she still resented his betrayal in high school. "It's good to see you." Backing away, she glanced at Karen and waved. "I'll talk to you later." Then as fast as she could, she left the café.  
  
Nathan arched his eyebrows at Keith. "So Haley's back in town."  
  
Keith smiled smugly as he wiped down a table. "Yep."  
  
Bending down he tugged on his daughter's pigtail playfully. "And she doesn't know that Lu..."  
  
Wiping more he smiled. "Nope."  
  
"And he doesn't know she is.."  
  
"Nope." Picking up the rag Keith threw it over his shoulder.  
  
Nathan shook his head as he processed the new information. "Interesting. Very interesting."  
  
Keith laughed, winking at Karen. "Yes it is."  
  
______  
  
"So what your telling me is that the roof needs to be redone along with replacing the furnace?" Rubbing her temples, she held the cell phone to her ear as she walked down Main Street. "Fine, fine I get it. It won't sell otherwise. So I'll find someone to do the work."  
  
Closing the phone quickly, she put it in her purse and prayed for it to never ring again.  
  
"You look like your ready to kick someone's ass." Nathan spoke sarcastically while walking behind her.  
  
"Look Nathan, I would really love to talk and catch up, but I have a list of things to get done." She continued to walk as he followed her step for step. Glancing over, he was smirking and keeping pace. Stopping quickly she threw her hands in the air. "What?! What Nathan?"  
  
"Well it is good to know some things don't change." She hadn't changed much at all, besides her thinner frame and shorter hair, she still seemed like the same old Haley. "Look, I just want you to know that I know how hard it is to sell your childhood house and if you need any help with it or..."  
  
"Thank you. That is really kind of you, but I can do it by myself." Before he could say another word, she walked away towards her home.  
  
Nathan was amused, chuckling at the recent turn of events. "Yes this is going to be very interesting." 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
He threw the ball to his brother, winking as he immediately jumped up to block him from his shot. "Just like old times eh bro?"  
  
Nathan passed the ball through Lucas' legs, dribbled and took the corner shot making the basket. "Just like old times. I kick your butt and you cry like a baby."  
  
"Yeah you wish." He rebounded the ball and wiped the sweat from his brow. "I'm just a little rusty. Not much basketball playing in Italy."  
  
"So Italy is where you've been." Nathan jumped to block Lucas' shot. "I figured you were shacked up with some hot Italian woman."  
  
"I wish. That was Paris, where a French mistress shackled me to the bed for five days." He laughed, dribbling the ball, realizing he wasn't in as good of shape as he thought. "So can you believe Whitey is retiring?"  
  
"No I can't. Thought the old guy would be coaching till the day he died." Grabbing the ball from Lucas he broke into a trot to the other basket, jumping and dunking like he was sixteen again. He knew the minute he landed that he would be regretting that move for the next week. "Ahhh @#%$."  
  
"Man, you better be careful. You're an old man now bro. The rate you're going, Ali will be taking care of you full time in five years." Lucas grabbed the ball from Nathan and dribbled back down the court.  
  
"Yeah well you are not looking to in shape either. Besides, Ali is already taking care of me." Nathan smiled thinking of his daughter. The five year old was the light of his life, his reason for getting up every morning. He had done a lot of growing up when his college girlfriend had left town after giving birth, leaving him to raise Ali on his own. The thing was, he never once questioned what he had to do. The minute he held her in his arms, he knew what he had to do. He took the job as assistant coach to Whitey, finished his graduate degree at the community college at night and was both mother and father to his daughter. It wasn't easy, but he had the support of his mother, Uncle Keith and Karen when he needed it. Like now, Ali was helping out at the Café while he was spending quality time with Uncle Lucas.  
  
Passing the ball to Nathan, Lucas looked admiringly at his brother. "She's a great kid Nate, you've done a great job."  
  
They stopped and stared at each other. "Yeah, she is isn't she? Now let's play ball cause we are getting a little too mushy here."  
  
Nathan dribbled to the basket making his shot and thought now was as good of time as any. "So, Haley's back in town."  
  
Lucas rebounded the ball and stopped. Haley. Immediately, the image of her filled his mind; her beautiful eyes, her smile, her touch and the feel of her body beneath his. No. Shaking his head he turned to Nathan and continued playing ball like nothing happened. He wasn't the one who walked away, she was. He tried to contact her, she didn't care. No. It was her fault they were no longer friends, it was her fault they never got the chance to be something more.  
  
"So are you going to pretend like I didn't say that I saw Haley?" Nathan smirked as his brother's mood changed immensely.  
  
"Yes, yes I am." Lucas threw the ball with more force at Nathan. "Are we going to play ball or what?"  
  
"Don't you wanna know that she is back in town to sell her house?" Nathan threw the ball back with the same force at him.  
  
"No, I don't." Lucas hurled the ball back.  
  
Nathan broke eye contact and spun around him, making a shot at the basket. "Yes! The elite Scott scores again!"  
  
Lucas rebounded the ball, spun around and made a dash for the other basket. Jumping high, he dunked against the rim, hanging on then letting go. "The more attractive and sexy Scott scores!"  
  
"In your dreams buddy, in your dreams." Nathan sighed as the topic of Haley went ignored. It was a small town, and sooner or later the two of them would cross paths and Nathan prayed to god he would be there for it.  
  
____________  
  
"Look, I don't care what you say. I'm not coming back to Seattle. Devon I told you that I need time and if you respected me, you would give it to me! Now, I'm going now and when I want to talk to you, I will call you. Goodbye."  
  
She threw her cell phone against the bare wall and fell to the floor. "Aaaahahh!!! Why can't I just be left in peace?"  
  
Karen stood outside the screen door with two cups of coffee and a bag of food in her hands. "Because that would be too easy."  
  
Haley looked up and smiled. "Oh thank god." Opening the door, she grabbed one cup as Karen walked into the house.  
  
Karen looked around in disbelief. "I can't believe this is the same house. It is so empty and void of..."  
  
"Furniture?" Sitting down on the hard floor she tore into the bag Karen brought. "Sometimes, I think you can read my mind."  
  
"If that was true, I would know what happened between you and Lucas." Karen saw Haley's body immediately tense up. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. It's just that I don't understand how two people who are best friends since the day they are born can just stop being friends."  
  
"Karen, that was a long time ago. So long ago that I don't even remember what happened." That wasn't true. She could replay that day over and over in her head like it just happened. "People just grow apart."  
  
"Yes they do. But not best friends." Karen held her hands up in defense at Haley's loaded look. "Okay, okay, I'm done." Taking a sip of her coffee, she reached for the photo albums piled on the floor. "So what was it you needed help with?"  
  
Sighing, Haley leaned back on her hands and rolled her neck hoping to relieve the built up stress. "A couple things actually. More personal than anything."  
  
"Haley you know you can talk to me about anything. What's going on?"  
  
"I was offered a position over seas, which is a great opportunity for me. It is what I always wanted to do, but I...well see...Devon, my boss..he made me a proposition. He asked me to marry him."  
  
Karen sat up straight and touched Haley's arm. "Oh wow. So what did you say?"  
  
"I didn't. I kind of just ran. It was all overwhelming and then my mom called and asked me to come here, so I did. Ever since, Devon has been calling everyday asking about the position and his question." She took a deep breath, wishing she could erase all the questions and thoughts racing through her head. "I just thought, coming here would give me perspective. I just feel like I'm missing something, you know? Like something isn't right and I can't give an answer to any of the questions till I find what I'm missing."  
  
Karen knew exactly what she was missing, and if she didn't find it on her own then a push in the right direction was in order. "It'll come to you Haley. When you least expect it the answer will be right in front of you."  
  
"I'm not so sure about that. I thought opening the door to this house would magically answer it all, but it hasn't. It has only made me question it even more." She bit her lip and thought about the picture on her mirror of two young innocent souls with so much to live for. Pointing to the album Karen held she smiled. "I was thinking you might want some of those pictures. There's a lot of Lucas in it and I figured maybe you would appreciate them more than..."  
  
"I'm not taking your memories Haley. They are yours and are meant to stay yours. Taking away pictures is not going to erase the past." Standing up, Karen held onto the book. "I'm gonna go, Keith has to get to the garage in half an hour." Placing the book next to Haley, she kissed her head and walked towards the door. "I think maybe you should go through those books, you can't figure out your future till you face your past."  
  
Haley watched the door close behind Karen and exhaled. Opening the hard cover of the album, she smiled as the first picture she saw of her and Lucas playing in a small swimming pool. They were no older than two years old, so innocent and so unaware of how messed up their friendship would become.  
  
________  
  
"So how is she?" Keith hugged his wife as she walked into the Café.  
  
"How is it possible for two people to grow so far apart? Have completely separate lives and still be connected by this invisible strand of what some people say fate?" Karen sat at the counter and put her head down.  
  
"I know that voice honey and you can't get involved. If they are meant to work this out than they will, on their own." Keith rubbed his hand on Karen's back.  
  
"I just love them both so much and they are both so terribly miserable without each other. They were best friends for god sake Keith. Best friends! You just don't let that go."  
  
His arms surrounded her, cradling her head against his chest. "No you don't." 


End file.
